The weather in New York today is brisk and bright, rather reminiscent of the afternoon I spent in the lovely little sea-side town of Kinsale.

Garrett was at work and it was my third day in Cork. As I'd already explored much of the city, I decided to catch a bus south. It was a 45 minute trip, and I think I was the only one not part of an group tour for old people on it. When we disembarked, I was glad I'd brought my comfy new sweater I'd picked up in Dublin - it was perfect sweater weather, ei. My FAVORITE kind of weather.

I had all afternoon and no agenda, so I wandered. I stumbled across a cute little cafe and bookshop, and walked out with a tart and a Hans Christian Anderson Fairytales book.

I roamed the winding streets with sweet in hand, stopping into quaint little stores selling knick-knacks, passing countless pubs, and browsing the farmers market. I loved how bright and colorful the houses were. I even sat on the wall overlooking the bay and penned a letter to a friend back home.

I took a stroll up the hill to check out a castle. It was very basic compared to many of the castles I've seen, and highly renovated, which was disappointing, but still - to think of the history that happened within those walls is staggering. It is also one of the few places in Ireland that made their own wine, and was the main import spot.

Even though I'd only been there a few hours, I was ready to head back to Cork. Here are a few more pictures of beautiful Kinsale.

It is time, dear readers, to take you on a visual journey through one of my best days in Ireland - Blarney Castle. I took a bus out to visit the ruins on my third day in Cork, and I would have to say, it was a turning point in my soul. Dramatic, I know. But I'm not sure how else to put it. I felt at home there, and could easily imagine living in a place like that (before it had become a ruin :P).

The day was magnificent - warm and bright, but with a nice breeze. The views from atop the castle were magnificent - truly breathtaking. I stopped and just breathed up there, taking everything in, and stilling myself - something I've never been good at achieving. I just was.

I relished galavanting around the grounds and exploring every nook and crevice - from the dank dungeon to the hidden ice house in the forest, the witch's kitchen to the horse graveyard. I was a child again - but a bold, adventurous one. I saw the countryside, stepped where actual men had been held prisoner, stood on the grate that had seen soldiers pour boiling liquids on intruders' heads, smelled the flowers, contained my roaming hand from touching the poisonous plants, kiss the Blarney Stone (and didn't get sick!), went where I wasn't supposed to, sat and reflected in the bedroom of the girls that used to live there, and felt my spirit finally at rest. It was really quite glorious. I could have spent days on those grounds.

I was a bit surprised, though not unhappy, that all the other visitors only seemed interested in the castle itself, not the expansive grounds. I did the castle first, as I wasn't sure how long it was going to take, but then I traipsed off on a path to see what the great "wild" held. I was not disappointed. I witnessed such beauty and natural growth - nature at its finest. I've sorely missed being surrounded by verdant green-age ever since moving to NYC. I loved tramping through the underbrush, getting my hands wet and dirty with the goodness of the earth. I wish I could have seen even more than I did!

Alas, all good things must end, and so did my time at Blarney Castle. But just as I needed to be about my way, it started to sprinkle, and then heavily mist, so all-in-all, it was a good time to skee-dats. It was with a joyous heart and a wet head that I said my farewells.

So, a funny little post-script for my adventures in Blarney. I had actually met a man on the bus from Cork. He was originally from Blarney, and made sure I got off at the right place. We ended up chatting and grabbing a tea before I went to the castle, and met up a few hours later to take the bus back to Cork. We started talking to the girl behind us, who was finishing up a year long travel extravaganza! It was terrific talking to her, and when we arrived in Cork, since the weather was by then wet and dreary and none of us were in a rush, we stopped at the lovely little coffee shop, where I got an absolutely scrumptious cup of hot cocoa. We chatted and sipped for over an hour before our various duties called us away. I was tempted to write, "Only in Ireland", but actually, I think opportunities like that can happen anywhere, if you're open to them...

I got to spend a wonderful 4 full days in the lovely city of Cork. Garrett had work all week, so I was left to my own devices until the evening. He has a wonderful 2 bedroom apartment right on the river, so I was never worried about becoming lost.

Garrett had told me about the English Market, so that was my first order of business. As the streets are very windy (not a lovely NYC grid), I wasn't exactly sure where he had told me to go. Thankfully, everyone I met in Ireland was very friendly and helpful when it came to giving directions. When I got there, I was immediately transported to cooker heaven! Everything was local, fresh, and insanely priced! All the meat was incredibly affordable and nothing looked "off" - as so often is the case in grocery stores here. [I was at Trader Joe's the other day and there were signs exclaiming "Grass Fed!" and "Natural!" I thought it was funny that they make such a big deal (and sad that a deal must be made), when that's the way food is EXPECTED to be in Ireland.]The dessert cases were especially enticing, and the hardest thing I had to decide was if I wanted to make chicken, beef, or pork for dinner! I ended up going with a stuffed and rolled chicken w/ root vegetables for the first night. Oh. My. Goodness. I have never had better tasting chicken! And that's not a statement of my cooking prowess. It makes a WORLD of difference in the flavor how the meat is raised. As animals way outnumber people in Ireland, you drive across the country and see it dotted with cows and sheep, let loose to graze the lush hillsides.

I also spent an afternoon exploring Shandon, even climbing the church tower and ringing the bells. It was a beautiful view of Cork from up there, and just think of the number of people that heard my fumbled playing of Frere Jacques and Amazing Grace :P

It was a bit of a climb, and the higher you got, the narrower the way became. But it was cool to see the bells - I've never gotten that view before.

After Shandon Church, I checked out the Butter Museum (which brought to mind the film Butter - anyone see it?). It was an interesting look at the butter trade, and I found it fascinating that cattle raiding was a huge thing back in the day.

As we had been out and about, bouncing from pub to pub until about 3am, it was a bit difficult to roust me from slumber (Cue theme of the week - Garrett was a trooper!). When I finally joined the land of the living, we ambled out and through the quiet streets of Dublin.

One of the great things about Ireland is that everyone is incredibly health conscious - gluten free was a huge thing (woohoo!), and finding fresh juice was never an issue. We stumbled across little markets with fine foods and beautiful clothes as we made our way to a cute little restaurant Garrett'd heard about for breakfast.

As there was no real agenda for our second day, we spent it leisurely strolling along the river. There were a lot of little things we came across along the way: sculptures, graffiti, great photo shots, Oktoberfest, monuments, etc. All in all, a wonderful, relaxing day.

After our pleasant ramble, we decided to hit up the National Leprechaun Museum (ok, I decided to hit it up, and dragged the hapless G along. He was such a good sport.). Yes, Ireland has a Leprechaun Museum. DUH! It was a kind of kitschy time, but fun nevertheless.

After our adventure as Leprechauns, we headed back across the river to The Brazen Head - Ireland's oldest pub, originally founded in 1198! We each got a pint and tucked into some absolutely mouth-smacking worthy dinner. My Beef and Guiness Stew was the only meal I wasn't able to finish the whole trip because there was SO. MUCH. OF. IT! And oh, how I want a bowl of it right now.

After dinner at The Brazen Head, we grabbed our bags from the hotel and headed to the train station, where we caught the 9pm down to Cork. There had been a huge Irish Football match between Kilkenny and Kerry that afternoon (their equivalent of a Super Bowl - my flight from NYC had been packed w/ Irish guys heading back just for the match!), and the train was packed. We ended up sitting next to a Kerry girl (very happy since Kerry won over Kilkenny), and two funny guys - one of whom kept trying to hook up his friend with me and the other girl. Between the five of us, the conversation made the trip seem like no time at all, and one of the guys we'd met gave me inspiration for a new set of characters and story.

My trip to Ireland was an absolute dream. I could not have imagined a better vacation, and it was the trip that kept on giving. The sights were amazing, the food divine, and the people quite the characters.

Dublin: Day 1

I'm doing this routine of yoga and a nourishment (usually juice or a smoothie) every morning, and I couldn't just not do it in Ireland. So, of course, I got my yoga boogie on in the Dublin airport once I landed at 9.30am. I felt a little funny doing it at first, but felt so refreshed and awake afterwards - esp. after having travelled for over 6hrs and slept little in the past 24hrs.

After taking a bus to the city centre, I met Garrett at the hotel we were staying and off we went to breakfast at the Elephant and Castle, an absolutely charming little restaurant with the most mouth wateringly succulent sausage I've ever tasted. I've never had finer ground meat - it practically dissolved on my tongue. I would soon come to learn that Ireland has the best food on earth (at least out of anywhere that I've eaten. I'm firmly convinced this is because of the way they raise their animals: no factory farm bullshit. Just fresh air, green grass, and humane conditions. It really does make all the difference in the world. Every single meal I ate was absurdly good.)

After breakfast, we walked around Dublin a bit and toured Dublin Castle, a structure that is still used for major events in Irish history. You don't see craftsmanship these days like you did when all of these castles and churches were built. The lush opulence was awe-inspiring. They also had a beautiful garden behind the castle, with fresh lavender and beautiful fountains around every corner. We stopped in their cafe for a small bite and a drink. Apparently, the Irish aren't that into drinking Chai, but the server was from India and was super happy he got to make me one. It was absolutely delicious.

After our snack at Dublin Castle, we went to St. Patrick's Cathedral. We decided to take a guided tour, and I'm glad we did. Normally I like to just look around myself, but there was so much history behind everything, it was nice to learn about it.

It's named thus because it is believed to be the place St. Patrick did his first baptisms. It is generously patroned by the Guiness family, and Jonathan Swift is buried there. There is also a statue that happens to look like my college friend, Charlie :) In the below pictures, you will again notice the elaborate decoration, even detailed in the tiled floor. It's really quite breathtaking.

After St. Patrick's Cathedral, we went to Trinity College, primarily to see the Book of Kells. I was confused, because I thought the Book of Kells was an animated film. I, of course, was thinking of The Secret of Kells. The Book of Kells is actually an elaborately decorated manuscript of the first four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) in Latin, thought to have been copied by four scribes. It was a mindblowing work of art. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures of the actual book or the exhibit explaining the craftsmanship, symbolism, and process of creation. To actually have gotten to look at something created around 800 AD... Just, wow. I've included a link to the Wikipedia page on it so you can take a virtual look at what I'm talking about.

We also checked out an exhibit in the Old Library about Brian Boru, the first Emperor of Ireland. It was a fascinating series of tapestries and pictures explaining his rise and fall, and Garrett and I both believed it would make a great Pixar film.

After seeing Trinity, we walked around Dublin; saw Grafton street and St. Stephen's Green - a lovely park with a family of swans living in it. We then hit up a couple of pubs and, all in all, had a terrific first day and night in Dublin!